Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – “Team Missions” Co-op (with video!) and More

Hi readers, this is Hayashi from Team NINJA checking in again. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is coming along very well and I hope our Challenge in our previous post kept you busy while you wait for additional information on the game. Just in case you weren’t able to spot the differences, they are:

Ayane

1. The dagger with the iris is stuck on the bridge
2. Team NINJA logo on the side of the flying vehicle (the left one)
3. One less bump on the Buddha’s head

Rachel

1. A scar on the Buddha’s cheek (hammer attack by Rachel)
2. Bullet cases on the bridge (instead of flower petals)
3. Bullet holes on the handrail of the bridge

Momiji

1. A good luck charm on the handrail of the bridge
2. Maple leaves (instead of flower petals)
3. Ryu’s image (looks like a billboard advertisement) on the lower level of the red tower

In the previous post (and ever since we announced Sigma 2 back in March), there were many comments about the violence/gore level in this game compared to NGII, which we released over a year ago on the 360. As in our response, our goal is to create one of most challenging action games and we believe that can be achieved without all of attention going to the amount of blood that is used throughout the game. (Not to mention the fact that ESRB advertising guidelines do NOT allow decapitation in trailers even if the game is rated “M” for Mature, so we haven’t been able to include any footage of that in our trailers…dismemberment is allowed, but no decapitation.)

Going back to the playable characters in Sigma 2, we’re going to give them some flavor by throwing in some costumes! Ryu and Rachel will each have four unlockable costumes, while Ayane and Momiji will have two.

A sample of the costumes are:

Ryu: “Falcon” (from Ninja Gaiden II), clear the “Path of the Ninja” or “Path of the Warrior” once

Ayane: “Ninja Gaiden Sigma” (from Ninja Gaiden Sigma), clear the “Path of the Ninja” or “Path of the Warrior” once

Momiji: “Training” (from Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword), clear the “Path of the Ninja” or “Path of the Warrior” once

Rachel: “Long Flowing” (from Ninja Gaiden Sigma), clear the “Path of the Ninja” or “Path of the Warrior” once

Speaking of unlockables, there will be over 50 trophies to earn in Sigma 2: 38 bronze, 10 silver, 2 gold and 1 platinum. And for those who played NGII, yes, there are new trophies in Sigma 2 which involve the new playable characters as well as the co-op mode.

Now, onto the all-new “Team Missions” co-op mode. We introduced “Mission Mode” in the original Sigma where the goal was to simply destroy all enemies in sight…but that was you playing alone. In TEAM Missions (no “I” in TEAM!), it’s all about teamwork (2 players; Online 1P+1P or Offline 1P+CPU) and how well you perform with another partner. There are more than 30 missions, categorized by difficulty level. Once you select your mission, you then select your character’s weapon, ninpo and costume. In Team Missions, you are prohibited from using items and may not change weapons. You will encounter situations that do not occur in Story Mode, such as facing multiple bosses at once!

The rule is simple: if one of the two players dies, it’s game over. Team up with your partner to execute an Ultimate Ninpo attack, where players, if timed right, can combine their Ninpo attacks for superior destructible power against the enemies. A warning will go off when your partner is low on health, so get closer and rescue them using the Critical Save command.

If you decide not to team up with another fellow Sigma 2 player, you can play alone, using an AI-controlled character. Partner up with a friend or other super ninjas around the world and take on the toughest challenges. Here’s a look at Team Missions in action:

In Team Missions, you and your partner can select the same character, so it will be possible to play missions with two Ryus, two Ayanes and so on. Since there are different difficulty levels, I encourage everybody to beat them all for ultimate ninja bragging rights! To prove those bragging rights, you can view your playthrough in Ninja Cinema (available for Team Missions) and share it online. To view, you will be prompted to save the record at the end of each mission. Your Karma points and rankings will also be available to view online.

So, when will all of this be available, you ask? September 29. Not only that, but we also have a GameStop-exclusive pre-order costume that will be available to download via PSN at the time of launch, as well as a special Collector’s Edition package! The Collector’s Edition package will include an 80-page book featuring a “Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Prologue” comic, a mini-strategy guide and an art gallery. The comic, written and designed by Team NINJA’s artist, is actually a printed form of the digital comic that has been integrated into the game. Here’s a peek:

We’ll be sharing details on a few more new features next time, so stay tuned!

“our goal is to create one of most challenging action games and we believe that can be achieved without all of attention going to the amount of blood that is used throughout the game.”

So then the 360 version had all of the attention go into the amount of blood? Still don’t understand why this is being toned down. You’re saying we would have to trade good gameplay to have the same gore which was originally intended? Was looking forward to this but I think I’ll have to pass. Not that blood is everything in a game but I’d hate to miss out on what 360 owners got to see.

Because of the online co-op this will be the first Ninja Gaiden I’ve bought since the NES days. I’ll be pre-ordering to get it day 1 with the extra costume. I played NG2 alot at my neighbor’s, great game but I fely co-op was needed tbh. I would like local co-op too, but I mostly game online anyway. So I’m more than happy.

I also have to request, like someone else did before me, that you support Home game launching from day 1. Please see if you can pull some strings to make that happen.

As for the blood, I don’t care either way. It was pretty cool on NG2, but tbh it seem more like you guys were just trying to be outrageous with it. I very much prefer all the nice visual and particle effects over the blood. It seems like something that’s giving the PS3 more of a workout. But to be fair to the people who think the blood looks better, I’d LOVE to see an option to pick between the two. Either maximum visual effects, or maximum gore. It would be a ncie option.

Hayashi, and Team Ninja, please put offline co-op as well so me and me brother can play NGS2 together in vertical split screen with my big 52″ Sony Bravia HDTV.

Online co-op is awesome, and co-op with a CPU is good as well, but co-op offline with a friend or brother playing on the same TV hasn’t been confirmed.
I hope you guys read this and make a co-op offline as well so me and my bro can both play NGS2 helping each other, I love playing games with my bother, we always play co-op games together.

Also please keep the single player Mission Mode as well okay.
I love every modes.
But the most important mode I want is the co-op offline cause so me and my brother can both play in the same TV and help each other.

THis game is gonna b SICK!!! im jus curious if u can do 2player offline wit a friend on the same consol?
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I want that too, like my message on #56 said, I want a offline co-op and split screen vertical because I have a wide 52″ HDTV and I don’t like horizontal because it made it more wider, so I like vertical more.
This is because I want to play with my brother more than people I don’t know online, also I want to help my bro and teach him and help him learn to be a good gamer.
He’s already good enough, but I want him and me to play NG together.

Offline co-op is only 1 player + CPU, but you will be able to choose your player and your partner.
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Can you tell Hayashi-san to make a feature for offline co-op like 2 players offline co-op?

I do like the co-op online and CPU offline, but still missing the 2 players offline co-op.
I really want to play a NG game with my brother at the same time and its still two months away so can you guys add 2 players offline co-op before the release of the game?

I wish and hope to hear about 2 players offline in the next blog okay.
Please tell this to Mr. Hayashi-san, everybody would love a 2 players offline co-op sometime because they can teach their cousin and brothers to play the game and help each other out sometime.

Will Europe/PAL countries be getting a collectors edition that include the unlockable costume??? I really want the unlockable costume especially.. I hope you can release the collectors edition here aswell!

You guys are trying to make everyone broke. Too much good games this year. I will buy all. Keep up the good work Team Ninja. You too Sony. The more games the more money for you guys. Just like the PS@. I t had so many games that anyone in the world could find atleast one that would bring interest to their mind.

I am truly disappointed with Team NINJA iv been a huge fan of you guys since DOA3 on the xbox and iv followed all you games NG2 being my most favoured. i have both consoles but i still felt like i got screwed, all this time iv been playing NG2 and loving it but
all this time i been playing a game that’s been broken and then you guys come a long and say that you took on bored all the comment and advise that you got from the fans xbox fans that i might add and you say that you’ve fixed the problems with NG2 and improved it and then you go on to release the fixed version of the game on the PS3! Where is the logic in that? But you know what it doesn’t matter like i say i have both consoles but i still can’t help but feel like i got ripped off in some way
(part 1 of my comments)

now about the blood i know that this issue has been talked about in to the ground but i still want to have my say as a gamer who’s played every NG including NG2. First i don’t dislike the mist but im not convinced on the colour why is it purple for enemies that bleed red? Have you guys considered changing the colour according to the character e.g. Ryu = blue, Momiji = orange, Ayane = purple and Rachel = green. Or maybe changing the colour according to the weapon I remember in NG2 when you charged a weapon for a UT each weapon would charge a different colour so the Dragon Claw Tiger Fang would have a read mist, Tonfa a green mist and the Vigaroos a white mist.
(part 2 of my comments)

Ok now on to the, loss of blood like I say I don’t dislike the mist but what I don’t like is the loss of blood it would be great to have the same amount of blood like in NG2 and the mist.
So far I’ve read and heard may excuses for the loss of blood in NGS2 but I don’t feel that any of them a valid, you say that NG doesn’t need blood and isn’t about violence. But if it isn’t about blood why was blood added and in NG2 in the first place. NG and NGB the enemies would burst in to blood and disappear and then in NGS there was blood and in NG2 the blood was increased it only felt like natural progression that there be blood in NG and to the level of NG2 and as for NG not being about violence there is still limps being cutoff and obliteration moves in the game.
(part 3 of my comments)

I really can’t understand why you would take out the blood in NGS2 when it was so cool in NG2 another reason for the loss of blood that was given is that it makes the game more stylish I really can’t see how purple mist makes the game more stylish. I still need a proper reason for the loss of blood and I haven’t received one and I think that it is a very dumb idea to remove the blood in NGS2 do you feel that it’s what the fans of the NG franchise would want and whit NG2 did you get messages saying that the game needs purple mist to make it better, iv seen partitions campaigning against the loss of blood in NGS2 so it clear that gamers are not happy with it and if im correct there weren’t any partitions asking for mist in NG2!
(part 4 of my comments)

I don’t know if you’ve heard of the saying “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it” well that’s what I feel has happened the blood in NG2 wasn’t broken and it’s been fixed in NGS2
And the bottom line is if two copies of NGS2 where released at the same time one with blood and one without which one do you think would sell more? Which one do you think the fans would prefer? And even if NGS2 was released with the same amount of blood as in NG2 would people be complaining about the lack of purple mist in it.
(part 5 of my comments)

There is something ells that’s bothering me about the footage of NGS2 that I have so far seen and that is the disappearing limbs. There is no excuse for the limbs to disappear when cut of people tell me that the limbs was the reason for the slowdown in NG2 but this is NGS2 this is a game on different engine and on a more powerful console and yet it doesn’t have limbs. I have fond memories of NG2 where I cut down enemies and there was blood all over the floor and at time on the ceiling as well, and bogy parts laying all over the floor all covered in blood and it looked amazing but in NGS2 taking in to consideration the lack of blood which you say will be the same amount as in NGS but I haven’t seen it yet it looks like I’ve been in a fight with a manikin there very little blood and nobody parts laying around there’s just a torso like I say it feels like I’ve just gotten in to a fight with a manikin.
(part 6 of my comments)

I really really hope that you at least read what I’ve said and it would be great to get back a reply
But so far I am truly disappointed with Team NINJA and NGS2 and I hope you can regain my love for your game because for NGS2 I’m not really feeling too much love for it
(part 6 of my comments)

I’m looking forward to the game but was wondering if you guys are going to re-do the leaderboards from NG2 to make it like NGS? Separating difficulties is much cleaner and easier to find people than grouping it all onto one board.

Also there is a lot of glitched scores in NG2 and wanted to know if that’s going to be fixed for NG2S. There are people with scores of 99 million after only beating CH1. Adding time limits to fights will help quite a bit but something needs to be figured out on why people are getting 99 million in under an hour of play.

I understand your point completely, right, a game don’t need all that violence to be a fine action title.
But don’t forget that blood & gore has always been one of the most appealing aspects to gamers all over the world.

What I’m trying to say is, since PS3 users had to wait so long for it to arrive on their system, taking away the one thing that made it a such a flashy experience, is DISCRIMINATING against PS3 users.

You might say, that the new content would make up for it, but removing an appealing feature just to replace it with something else, in my eyes, there’s no GAIN to compensate all the time we had to wait for PS3 port at all.

As I see it, the game would get a M-Rating anyway, so there’s really nothing to lose if you put it in again, moreover, you would win many paying customers back.

Please consider the following possibilities:
– Make an option to turn it on/off
– or make it an unlockable (That’d be cool)
– or add it with DLC

It really shouldn’t be that much of an effort to put it back in, it’s not like we are asking for Kasumi to be in the game.

You’ve caused me to make a hard decision team ninja. As much as I like how you’ve fixed the camera and added new features you’ve taken away something of great importance. It may seem unimportant to some, but the tremendous amount of blood found in the game is what makes this ninja Gaiden and not many other action games on the market. I suppose I must plead at this point to get anything done, and I beg you Team Ninja, give us the option, at the very least, to have the blood level we want.
TL;DR No blood no purchase.

if u feel u got rip off, just don’t buy the game and keep playing NG2.
i also have an X360 and NG2 as well, and i don’t feel rip off cause why should Team Ninja re-release NGS2 on X360 again, it would just cause them to loose more money.
there is NG2, why would Xbox users wanna buy NGS2 at full price when NG2 cost less than $20.

since the PS3 audience or Ps3 users haven’t play NG2 yet, it would be better making it for PS3.

NG2 on X360, NGS2 on PS3. Xbox usrs have NG2, PS users have NGS2. its fair enough.
if u want to play NGS2 again and call yourself a NG fan then why is it so bad to buy a PS3?
is PS3 really a bad system?
did u really hate Sony?
Sony is what give us the best gaming back in the 90s and u just forgot all about it.

moshin117, i respect u, but if u keep saying u got rip off, then just don’t buy the game cause u already have NG2 on X360, let the PS3 users have their turn, or else be like me and buy the game and play and have fun.
i too have both PS3 and X360, i don’t care NG go to PS3 o X360, i both the game and play.